My First Life Drawing Class

One thing that always makes me laugh now is how nervous I was before my first life drawing class.

I’d worked plenty of hens parties before. I’d been a topless waiter, hosted games, poured drinks, and walked into houses full of complete strangers to entertain groups all afternoon. None of that ever really bothered me.

But standing completely naked in front of a room full of strangers holding sketch pads?

That felt very different.

I remember spending most of the night before thinking about it. What if it was awkward? What if nobody enjoyed it? What if I forgot what I was supposed to be doing? What if I couldn’t hold the poses properly? What if I just looked nervous the whole time?

The funny thing is that after more than ten years in the industry, I’ve learned that most people worry far more about things before they happen than when they actually happen.

My first life drawing class was a perfect example.

The Biggest Class I’ve Ever Done Is Still Very First

What made it even more intimidating was the size of the booking.

To this day, it’s probably still the biggest life drawing class I’ve ever worked.

There were close to 40 guests.

The house wasn’t particularly big either.

As people started arriving, it became obvious there wasn’t enough seating. Not even close.

We ended up dragging every chair we could find into the lounge room. Dining chairs. Outdoor chairs. Kitchen stools. Anything that looked remotely sit-able.

Every room in the house got raided.

Even then it wasn’t enough.

There were guests sitting cross-legged on the floor, guests leaning against walls, guests squeezed into corners, and somehow people were still finding room where there shouldn’t have been any.

Everywhere I looked there seemed to be another person.

I remember standing there thinking:

“Well, this is happening.”__

The Naked-On-Stage Nightmare

It genuinely felt like one of those nightmares people talk about.

You know the one.

The dream where you suddenly realise you’re standing naked on a stage and everybody is staring at you.

Except this wasn’t a dream.

There were actually 40 people looking at me.

And they all had pencils.

For the first few minutes I was hyper-aware of everything. Where I was standing. What pose I was holding. Where people were looking. How long the pose had been going.

I was probably making it ten times worse in my own head than it actually was.

When The Nerves Disappeared

Then something unexpected happened.

About ten minutes into the class, my brain just switched off.

The nerves disappeared.

The guests were laughing. The bride was having fun. People were chatting while they sketched. A couple of guests were taking the artistic side very seriously while others were clearly just there for the laughs.

The atmosphere relaxed almost instantly.

Then I remember having a completely random thought.

I was standing there holding a pose and suddenly found myself wondering what I was going to have for dinner later that night.

That was the moment everything clicked.

I’d spent hours worrying about something that wasn’t a problem.

Nobody felt awkward.

Nobody was uncomfortable.

Nobody was judging anyone.

Everyone was simply having a good time.

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What That First Class Taught Me

That first booking taught me something I’ve seen repeated hundreds of times since. Most guests arrive feeling slightly nervous. Some are worried they can’t draw, some think it might be awkward, and some have absolutely no idea what to expect.

Then the class starts.

People start laughing. The bride starts blushing. Someone draws something ridiculous. The drinks start flowing. Within a few minutes everyone forgets they were ever nervous in the first place.

That’s one of the reasons life drawing works so well for hens parties. It’s not really about the drawing. It’s about the shared experience, the laughter, the stories, and the inside jokes that get created during the session.

If my very first life drawing class taught me anything, it’s that the anticipation is usually far scarier than the reality. Five minutes into the class, everyone is simply having too much fun to care.

These days life drawing bookings are a regular part of my weekends, and it’s funny looking back at how nervous I was for that first one. Now I don’t get nervous at all. I simply turn up and go to work.

The first thing I do is read the room. Every hens party is different. Some groups want something classy and artistic, some want something cheeky, and some have clearly booked life drawing with one goal in mind: making the bride blush as much as possible.

A good life drawing model doesn’t just stand there and hold poses. A big part of the job is understanding the group. Within the first few minutes I’ll usually have a pretty good idea of what sort of class it’s going to be.

Over the years I’ve built up a mental catalogue of poses. Some are funny, some are artistic, some are sexy, and some are guaranteed to get a reaction from the bride and her friends. The trick is knowing which ones to use.

The other thing people don’t realise is that positioning matters almost as much as the pose itself. Guests can only draw what they can see, so distance, angles, and where you stand in the room all make a difference.

One of my favourite ice breakers is when I notice the bride sitting quietly at the back.

I’ll smile and say:

“I think the beautiful bride-to-be might be a little short-sighted. I’d better move a bit closer.”__

That usually gets a laugh.

Then I’ll walk right over and position myself directly in front of her. If she’s sitting on a couch, I’ll casually put one foot up on the armrest, hands on my hips, standing proudly while the rest of the group completely loses it.

The bride goes bright red.

Her friends start cheering.

Someone inevitably grabs their phone for a photo.

And suddenly the room relaxes.

That’s usually the moment everyone realises this isn’t some serious art class.

It’s a hens party.

It’s supposed to be fun.

Once that ice is broken, the entire atmosphere changes. People stop worrying about their drawing, stop worrying about whether they’re doing it right, and simply enjoy the experience.

And that’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned from life drawing over the years.

The drawings are great.

But the thing people remember most is how much fun they had making them.

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